Rotary-piston engine.



No. 784,177. PATENTED, MAR. 7, 1905. J. PROBST.

ROTARY PISTON ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 11,1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

fay

W 23m M No. 784,177. I PATEN'I'ED MAR. 7, 1905. J. PROBST.

ROTARY PISTON ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES 4a INVENTOR A TTORN E Y5 Patented March '7, 1905.

JOHN PROBST, OF MILWVAUKEE, VVISUONSIN ROTAI'RY-PlSTON ENtBdltlEu SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters IPatent N0. 78%,1'7'7, dated IVfarch '7, 1905.

Application filed July 11,1904. Serial No. 216,004.

To all whom 112% may concern.-

Be it known that I, Join? PROBST, a citizen of the United States. residing at Milwaukee, county of l\l.ilwaukee, and State of VVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rotary-Piston Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in steam-motors, With especial reference to that class of such motors in'which a series of pisston-cylinders are caused to revolve around a stationary crank shaft by the reactionary pressure of the motive fluid on the cylinderheads.

The object of my invention is to provide structural improvements with a view'to rendering motors of this class practical, eliicient, and durable, the particular features of construction constituting my invention being hereinafter fully set out in detail and claimed.

In the following description reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of my invention, drawn on the axis of the crankshaft. Fig. 2 is a detail end view of the bed and the lower portion of the standard through which the rotary shaft extends. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view drawn on line a; a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view illustrating a modified form of packing designed to be interposed between the controlling-disk and the adjacent parts. Fig. 5 is a view of the inner face of the stationary hub, showing the steam-ports. Fig. 6 is a view of the face of the controlling-disk which contacts with that face of the stationary hub shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a view of the inner face of the controlling-disk which contacts with the rotary drum. F ig. 8 is a view of the face of the rotary drum in contact with the controlling-disk. Fig. 9 is a side view of the poripheral drum-ring on a reduced scale.

1 is a bed-plate provided with suitable standards 2, 3, and 4. The standard 2 supports the stationary portion of the engine, which is provided with a steam-inlet t and governor 5, controlling the passage of motive fluid through a valve-casing 6 to a steam-chamber 7, from which the motive fluid is delivered to the various steam-cylinders, as hereinafter explained.

10 is a stationary cranlvshaft mounted in a hub 11, connected with the standard and projecting into a drum composed of the side walls 12 and 13 and a peripheral wall 1%, which drum is rotatably mounted on the sta tionary crank-shaft 10. A series of stcanr cylinders 15 are arranged within the drum, each of these cylinders being provided with a piston 16, com'iected with the Cl'ftllli-Sllzt'ft by a connecting-rod 17. Each of the cylinders is formed integrally with the drum, the latter being subdivided by integral web-walls which not only form the cylinders. but subdivide the interspaces and furnish a lateral support for the interior cylinder-walls. The steam-cylinders 15 are arranged at equal distances from each other within the drum and along a spiral line, each of said cylinders being o1fset from the adjacent cylinders a distance equal to the thickness of the connecting-rod at the point of itsunion with the crank-shaft 10. By this arrangement I am enabled to use straight crank-shafts, as the axis of each steam-cylinder is in the direct line of its co n nection with the crank-shaft. The peripheral wall of the drum is provided with a flange at one side, which is scrmved to the side wall of the drum by screws 21 and is provided with screw-threwled apertures at 29, whereby when it is desired to remove the peripheral wall 14 the screws :21. may be re moved and inserted in the apertures .22, WllGlClllJOl'i the wall 14-. will be moved oll' laterally by the pressure of the screws 21 against the side wall 13. This construction avoids the necessity of shrinking the peripheral wall 14; into position. Packing is preforably employed in annular channels 24, formed in the marginal edge of the Will 12.

Steam is admitted to the piston-cylinders through ducts 30, extending radially in the wall 12 and inwardly to the several cylinders in partition-walls 31, these partition-walls being of varying length. according to the dis" tance between the wall 12 and the respective piston-cylinder. A controlling disk or valve is interposed between the hub 11 and the central portion of the wall 12 of the drum and is adapted to be oscillated or partially rotated on the crank-shaft 10 by means of a lever 41, which is locked in any desired position of adjustment by a latch 42, engaging a toothed segment 43 on the hub 11. The disk 40 is provided with a port 45 for the admission of motive fluid from the chamber 7 to the several steam-cylinders through the ducts 30, and a port 46, adapted to connect the ducts 30 with an exhaust-passage 47 on the opposite side of the drum from that of steam admission. The disk is also provided with a port 50, connecting the ducts 51 and 52, whereby any steam or water accumulating in the central portion of the drum on account of leakage from the steam-cylinders is delivered into a pipe 53, leading to a suitable point of discharge.

It will be observed that a pipe 54 connects the steam-inlet pipe 4 with the pipe 53, the pipe 54 having a valve at 55 and the pipe 53 having a valve at 56 below the point of connection with pipe 54. By closing the valve 56 steam may be admitted directly to the interior of the drum and the metal expanded to normal working temperature preparatory to starting the engine.

The Web-walls 60 in the interior of the drum are provided with apertures 61 in order to permit the steam to enter all the spaces between the cylinders for this purpose. When the engine is started, the valve 56 is opened to permit drainage, as above explained, and valve 55 is closed.

Referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the hub 10 is provided with two ports 65 and 66, with which the port 45 in the controlling-disk may be made to register. These ports 65 and 66 are located on opposite sides of the plane of the elbow 70 in the crank-shaft, so that the engine may be reversed by shifting the disk 40 to move port 45 out of registry with port 65 and into registry with port 66. The ports 65 and 66 are sufficiently separated, so that the steam will be cut off when the port 45 in the controlling-disk is in an intermediate position, as shown in Fig. 7, where the hub-ports are indicated in dotted lines.

The arrangement of the ports in the drumwall 12 is shown in Fig. 8, one port, 72, leading to a duct 30, being provided for each steam-cylinder in the drum, and said ports 7 2 being arranged in an annular row, so that they will be brought successively into registry with the port 45 as the drum revolves.

Lubricating-oil is fed to the bearings of the crank-shaft and connecting-rods through a duct 76 and branch ducts 77. An elbowed tube 78 is used to feed the oil into said ducts and is extended to a sufficient height to keep the ducts filled. A duct 7 9 and branch ducts the shaft-axes.

74 are provided in the inner face of the controlling-disk 40, whereby the contiguous faces of the disk and wall 12 are lubricated.

The drum is provided with a shaft 80, used for the transmission of power and also cooperating with the crank-shaft 10 in supporting the drum. This shaft 80 is mounted in suitable bearings in the standards 3 and 4. The

bearing-box 82 of the standard 3 is provided,

with an annular oil-chamber 83, and the shaft 80 is provided with an eccentric ring 85, extending into said chamber and adapted to continuously stir the oil when the shaft is in motion to prevent the heavier portions from settling to the load side of the bearing. A water-jacket, with chamber 86 and circulationpipes 87 and 88, is also provided to keep the bearings cool. As the drum is supported in part by the stationary crank-shaft 10 and in part by the rotary shaft 80, it is necessary that the axes of these shafts be kept in exact lineal alinement. I have therefore interposed wedgeblocks 90 between the standards 3 and 4 and the bed 1, whereby the standards 3 and 4 may be lifted from time to time to take up wear in the bearings and preserve the alinement of Screws 91, operating in lugs 92 on the bed, are used to force the wedges inwardly to lift the standards.

In operation, the controlling-disk being in the position in which it is shown in Fig. '7, steam is first admitted to the interspaces of the drum through the pipe 54, valve 56 being closed and valve 55 open. The position of these valves is then reversed and the main valve at 6 opened. The controlling-disk is then shifted to bring port45 into registry with one of the ports 65 or 66, when the engine will be started, and the revolution of the drum will bring the inlet-ports 72 of the several steam-cylinders into registry with the port 45 of the controlling-disk.

It will be observed that a packing-ring 92 is interposed between a shoulder 93 on the shaft 80 and the inner shaft-bearing. This ring is of resilient material, and its inner face is channeled at 94, while its outer face bears on a washer 95. This ring is adapted to push the drum resiliently against the controllingdisk 40 to take up the wear and keep the joints tight. Packing-rings are also provided between the controlling-disk 40 and the wall 12 of the drum, the opposing walls being channeled divergently and the packing-rings having divergent Walls fitting said channels and faced in the direction of steam-pressure, so that the pressure of the steam tends to spread the packing-rings.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a steam-motor of the described class, the combination of a rotary drum; a stationary shaft sup porting said drum and provided with a crank therein, said drum being subdivided by integral partition-walls into a series of spirally-arranged steam-cylinders and intermediate chambers; a piston in each cylinder and straight connecting-rods connecting the respective pistons with the crank, each successive cylinder being of the same size and offset from the preceding one at a distance equal to the thickness of the connecting-rod.

2. In a steam-motor of the described class having a stationary crank shaft, a drum mounted thereon, a series of steam-cylinders Within the drum provided with pistons and connecting-rods connecting the pistons and crank shaft; the combination of a valved steam-inlet pipe and means for delivering steam therefrom to the respective cylinders; a valved drainage pipe in communication with the interspaces of the drum; and a valved by-pass leading from the steam-inlet pipe to the drainage-pipe between the drainage-pipe valve and the drum.

3. In a steam-motor of the described class, a stationary crank-shaft, and a series of steamcylinders arranged in a row around the crankshaft; in combination with a drum having a removable peripheral wall provided with in \vardly-projecting marginal flanges at one side and screws securing said flanges to a sidewall of the drum; said flanges being also provided with scrcw-threaded apertures opposing integral portions of said side wall whereby the peripheral wall may be removed by means of screws inserted in said last-mentioned apertures and turned in contact with said side Wall.

t. In a steam-motor of the described class, the combination of a drum supported at one side by a stationary crankshaft and at the other side by a power-transmitting shaft; a forked standard provided with suitable bearings for the power-transmitting shaft; a bedplate supporting said standard; and adjustable Wedges interposed between the bed and the base portion of the standard.

5. In a steam-motor of the described class, the combination of a stationary crank-shaft; a drum mounted thereon; a stationary hub provided with steam inlet and exhaust ducts; a controlling-disk interposed between the hub and drum and provided with ports adapted to connect the ducts of the hub and drum, and a radial oil-duct in the controlling-disk having branch ducts for the distribution of oil to the contiguous faces of the disk and drum.

6. In a steam-motor of the described class, the combination of a stationary crank-shaft; a drum mounted to rotate thereon and a controlling-disk regulating the admission of motive fluid to the drum; the contiguous faces of the controlling-disk and drum being provided With annular channels having divergent Walls; together with an annular packing-ring havingdivergent walls fitting the walls of said channels.

7. In a steam-motor of the described class, the combination of a stationary crank-shaft; a rotary drum mounted thereon and provided with steam-cylinders; a rotary shaft mounted in suitable bearings and supporting the drum at one side; an annular resilient packing arranged to press the drum in the direction of the stationary shaft; and a controlling-disk regulating the admission of steam to the drum; said packing being adapted to press the drum against the controlling-disk.

In testimony whereof affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN PROBST. \Vitnesses;

JAs. 1- ERWIN, LEVERE'FT 0. WHEELER. 

